Dementia Diagnosis in Indiana: What to Do Next

The Window You Can't Get Back

A dementia diagnosis changes everything about how you plan, but early-stage is when you still have options that vanish later. Your parent likely retains enough cognitive capacity right now to sign legal documents, express care preferences, and participate in financial decisions. That capacity erodes progressively, and once it's gone, every decision path becomes harder, more expensive, and more adversarial.

The sequence below prioritizes actions in the order they become impossible as the disease advances — legal authority first, then financial positioning, then care infrastructure.

Step 1: Secure Legal Authority Now

If your parent hasn't already executed these documents, this is the single most time-sensitive task:

Durable Financial Power of Attorney. This authorizes you to manage bank accounts, pay bills, handle insurance, and make financial decisions on your parent's behalf. The word "durable" is critical — it means the authority survives incapacity. A standard POA expires when the principal becomes incapacitated, which is exactly when you need it most.

Health Care Representative (HCR) appointment. Indiana's Health Care Representative designation replaces older advance directive forms. Since July 1, 2021, Indiana no longer mandates a single official advance directive form — any written document that identifies the appointee, is signed by the appointing person, and is witnessed by two adults is legally valid. You can use the state sample form (State Form 56184) or any format that meets these requirements.

Both documents require that your parent understand what they're signing at the time they sign it. That's the "testamentary capacity" threshold — can your parent identify their family members, describe their assets in general terms, and understand that this document gives someone else authority to act on their behalf? An elder law attorney can assess this during the signing appointment and document it, which provides legal protection if the documents are later challenged.

If your parent has already lost the capacity to sign these documents, the only path to legal authority is a court-ordered guardianship through the probate division of your local circuit or superior court. Guardianship is more expensive, more time-consuming, and creates ongoing court oversight — which is exactly why getting the POA and HCR done now is so urgent.

Step 2: Contact Your Area Agency on Aging

Indiana's 16 Area Agencies on Aging are the intake point for virtually every state-funded care program. Call your regional AAA and request two things:

1. Options counseling. A free conversation with an intake specialist who can walk you through what programs your parent might qualify for based on their age, income, and care needs.
2. A preliminary level of care screening. If your parent may meet the nursing facility level of care and might need Medicaid waiver services, ask the AAA about the appropriate waiver waitlist — PathWays for people 60 and older or Health and Wellness for people under 60. The PathWays Waiver currently has over 11,000 people. Your position is based on the original assessment date, so earlier is better.

CICOA Aging & In-Home Solutions handles Central Indiana. Your AAA is listed on the FSSA Bureau of Better Aging website at in.gov.

Step 3: Map the Financial Landscape

While your parent can still participate in conversations about money, document the full financial picture:

• All bank accounts, investment accounts, and retirement accounts (balances and ownership)
• Real estate holdings and current equity values
• Income sources: Social Security, pensions, annuities, rental income
• Outstanding debts and liabilities
• Life insurance policies, including any cash-value information
• Any gifts, transfers, or property sales made in the past five years (the Medicaid 60-month look-back period)

This inventory serves two purposes: it tells you whether and when your parent might qualify for Medicaid long-term care, and it identifies potential look-back penalty triggers before they become problems.

If assets are substantial, consult an Indiana elder law attorney about protective strategies — irrevocable burial plans, Community Spouse Resource Allowance positioning, and whether any transfer exceptions (caretaker child, disabled child) apply.

Step 4: Build a Safety Infrastructure

Dementia-related wandering affects roughly 60% of individuals with cognitive impairment. While your parent's condition is still early-stage, put these measures in place:

• Register with your county's Project Lifesaver program (if available) for a transmitter-equipped wristband or ankle bracelet
• Prepare a Silver Alert information packet with a current photo, physical description, and medical documentation
• Install door alarms and consider GPS-enabled wearable devices
• Talk to your parent about driving — if they're still behind the wheel, document any safety incidents and plan for the transition

Step 5: Start the Conversation About Care Preferences

Early-stage dementia is when your parent can tell you what they want — and what they don't want. Do they want to stay at home as long as possible? Are they open to assisted living if it becomes necessary? Do they have strong feelings about particular facilities, geographic locations, or being near specific family members?

Document these preferences in writing. They won't be legally binding in the way an advance directive is, but they give you a framework for making decisions later when your parent can no longer express these wishes directly. They also reduce sibling conflict — it's harder for a sibling to challenge a care decision when the parent's own stated preferences support it.

The Indiana Dementia & Memory Care Guide includes an early-stage planning timeline that organizes these tasks into a structured sequence, with worksheets for each major decision point.

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